Therapeutic shoe.



B. W. BURT.

THEBAIVEUTG 350B. APPLIGANDN ruw ma' 3,1910.

Patented Fb.14,1911.

was'.

' all whom 'it may concern:

' UNLTED s'rnirns snrnnr onnron.

EDWARD V7. BURT, OF BRUGKLIHE, MASSACHUSETTS.

rnnsarnnrrc stron.

Be it known that I, EDWARD W. Bums, ai clzen or the United States1 residing at Brookline, in the county of Norfolk and S11-ate of Massachusetts, ave invented new amd useful Improvements in Therapeutic Sin-ces, ofl whichthe following is a speciicaht-y invention relates to improvements in therapeutic boots and shoes and its object is toi construct a shoe which will dispense with tine use of mechanical appliances or artificial supports and at the same time develop and strengthen the muscles of the foot.

so-called Hat-foot, plates of steel or otner material are made, which serve as meclnnnical braces, and support the arch of the :tourt and neutralize the tendency to pronetirnn. Sucha construction has been found to be` ineliieicnt, not only giving no eure. bnt'at best furnisl'ling only temporary relief. A til'i'ed or twisted plate (loes not. tilt or twist thee foot. but on account of its arbitrary xity ony makes the foot try continuously to get awfuy from it, and causes considerable pain. Pilates and stift' shoes are made because of thee belief that the foot has a fixed arch, wlnoreas the truth is, that the foot has the power of arching. The corrective mechanicaB .arch does not restore the natural arch of thez foot but only holds up the bones like a of ltheir hands.

'lihere are distinct traces of grasping move.- ments, which may be, and orten are, cultivaii'ed by barefooted races, and by individualis who are arxnless or have lost the control This grasping power which depends largely on the strength andnlobiiity bodly in Walking.

of tic'great toc is lost inv shoe-wearing peoples After all, the principal uses of the foca. arc to serve as a base of sup ort for the boriy and to assist in the propulsion of the The foot as a base is not inenft, but elastic and adjustable, and assists in loalancing the body; this is a'very iin ortamt and little noticed use of the foot. 'VS len the feet are Weak, deformed or improperly shord, the posture, balance and efliclency of thewwhole body suiier. The strong, movable, grenzt toe is a. great hel in balancing the bodv of thc shoeless primitive man; shoe- Speceation of Lettera Eaten?. Patented Feb. 14:, 1911. Application filed May 3,1?10. Serial No. 559,126.

i wearing people have lost this help from the i coninement and' lWealnaess of the great toe. The strength of the foot is such that it is more elastic and yieldin on its .inner (arched) side. When the oot is weakened or strained it tends to turn and roll outward, while the ankle falls inward, making 1 the ankle bone prominent This tendency is opposed by the muscles, which turn and roll the foot inward, shifting the weight to the ltler border of the foot, where it should barefooted peogrle by the pressure of the great toe directed somewhat inwardly; this -protection is entirel lost in shoe-wearing people, .and the dev aopment of the protectln muscles is much interfered with.

glo normal foot is ever sharply gointed in the middle as are so many shoes. t is longest and nearly straight) on the inner side;

and the end of the shoe which ought never to be sharply pointed, should lie over the normal position of .the great toe; that is,` toward the inner side. The great toe is never normally pushed outwardly toward The outward roll is also opposed yin the other toes; this is the effect of improper footwear.

My invention is .designed to permit the muscles of the foot to act in their normal. relationsfns above described and to this end I haveeonstructed a shoe,v which while rigid in the parts exposed to weer and external injury is at the same time made' flexible at the point where the natural. foot is flexible and permits the great t-oe and muscles thereof to i act in the manner of the natural aboriginal foot without snoes.

My invention essentially consists in constructing a shoe in which the arch of the sole is made of great :ilesribility7 the uppers above said arch and adjacent part of the shoe being also of considerable tlexibilit to coperate with the flexibility of said arc of the sole.'

Attention is hereby made to the drawings in which similar numerals of designation refer to similar parts throughout the several views. v Figure 1. is a side elevation of one of my improved shoes, tho shoe designed for the right foot being illustrated. Fig. 2.*is a.:

vertical `longitudinal section of the shoe illustrated in Fig. l. Fig. 3. is a view of the shoe shown in Fig. l, looking-at the saine from below. Fig. 4. is av View of the shoe showing the great flexibility of its -shank.

'Referring to the drawing, the shoe. there shown is composed of the outer sole, 5, the

inner sole (a), the heel 6, and nppix f?. The outcrsolr 5, is constructor] in two thicknesses, one tliielrness` of which 8, is located directly underneath the toes and ball of thc tooty of the wearer and is the wearing surface. coming,r in contact. with the ground, and the other thickness 9, bei-ng directly under- 'neath the instep or arch oftlie foot and ei:-

thickness atthe region of said arch. het I do it, would intcrfcrc u'itu thc required tcxore not find it necessary to reduce the thickness ot said sole at any other part. though I have in the preferred form illustrated in drawing shown the thickness of the sole reduced unvder the heel of the wearer as Weil as under .and thatv practically the thickness of the part .l is not really reduced 'at this point.

Below the pai-'r 9 at the extremity thereof and extendinglr forward, l secure to said part in the Troll known manner the heel which` has embodied therein at the outer front corncr the sott rubber cushion 1l, constructed with a. flange 12 for securing' the same between the layers ot said heel and with depressions 123 for atlordinig a gripping surface to come in contact with wound. I pre-fer to locate the said cushion at this point for the purpose .if j oviding a pivot for the heel to swing on and to throw the toes of the foot inwardly and thereby insure proper and correct contact with the surface walked upon The. inner .sole 5*, is made ot softflexible loatlic'r or other suitable material. and the .same is pi'ctciiilily slashed laterally with a linili; to render it still, more pliable. The. liet-l portion of thc upper 7, is formed with the van, .cani iti, located justto tho rear of the arch it), and i: giver the proper rigidity by use of the usual sztiti'enin; I` The said "amp scaui itl so located hc otheiwiisfl il' the saine vrcic 'tartine' 'i ,of the sole and t'urtlier that inerti 'freedom is given to the action of the tai-sal bones and i structed upon broad lines conforming to the shape of the foot, and permits the outward sweep of thc toes and the raising of thel (torsuin o.' the foot th toes grasp the sole.

While I have described my invention with particular reference to its use for a foot the arch of the instr of which is flattened se that the entire solo thereof rests upon the ground, I by no means desire t0 be limited to such restricted use., since it is obvious that;

my fhoe can be worn to anvaiitage by noi'- nial persons and so preent. the evils the shoe is designed to eure.

What, I clair.; and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

l. A Shoe of the character described cornprising an upper provided. with a broad toe and low counter, and conforming to the' natural shape of the hunian foot, a sole secured to said upper and provided with a. flexible arch, and a low heel secured to said upper and provided at its outer forward corner with pivotingr means acting to swing the toes of the. foot inward, and cooperating with the flexible arch to free the tai-sal bones and muscles from restraint, whereby the Weight of the body is shifted involuntarily to the outer border ofthe foot.

2. A shoe of the character described comprising an upper provided with a broad toe and low counter and conforming to the natural shape of the human toot, a sole secured to said upper and provided with a flexible. arch, and a lew heel also secured to said upper and provided at its outer forward corner with a. section of frictional materia.; acting t'o swing the toes of the toot, inwardly, and coperatinq with the flexible arch to free the tarsal bones and muscles from restraint, whereby the weight of the body is shifted involuntarily to the outer border of the foot. 'i

3. A shoe of the character described coinprising an upper provided with a broad toe and low counter, and coutciminjf to the natural shape of the human foot, a sole secured to said upper and provided with a flexible arch, and a low heel secured to said upper and provided at. its forward corner -witii a rec s, and a i'ublicr cushion fitting within said recess :ind haring a flange sc Cnr-.Hl between the lifts ot' seid heel, said cushion acting to swingl the toes ol the foot inward, :xn-'l cooperarinor with the tlciblo arch to 'rcc the tara-il bones and nin. from restraint, whereby the weight of the body is shiltcd involuntarillto the outer hoi-der of thc foot.,

4. shoe ot the character described coniprising an upper provided with a broad tec r and low counter, and conforming to the body is shifted involuntarily to the onter lo nafu'rul shape ofthe human foot, a soie seborder o'the foot.. mired to said upper :md provided wlth a In testimony wherof I havo hereunto set V iexible arch, und a low heel secured to said my hand in presence of two subscribing wil- "5 upper,r the forward outer corner of said heel nesees, this 29th day of April 1010. being constructed to swing the oes of th'e EIVARD YV. BURT; foot inward, and coperating with the exii Witnesses: f blo arch to free the tarsal bones and muscles ROBERT J A015501@l CRAM,

from restraint, wherebyy the weight of the ATHERTON N. HUNT.

.LI i 

